Los Altos Interior Designers

Robert G.

Verified review

Full cleaning 2700 sq ft home - 9 hours. Best brokered or web-led housecleaning experience EVER. Michael is a smart (IQ and especially EQ) and articulate man who quickly became immersed (with a ton of energy) in our tasks with a high level of sensitivity to our particular home stage. He is a totally capable cleaner, sure - used a totally effective combo of his and our own chemicals, tools and methods - got the house lastingly clean (it's been 4 days since now, time to dispassionately inspect) in all the conventional ways, missed only a few nooks or crannies - and he sincerely wanted to know what we catch that he misses (we got the sense he'll remember for next time).
BUT - what else? Most cleaners (especially on first time gigs) reveal a lot by how they handle the dusting / knick knack challenge - Michael got bookshelves and cabinets and chests and mantles and all that clean, "picking up" every little item to dust beneath, AND then surprised us by tweaking placement - staging - of MANY of the little precious things we've accumulated over the years and (not making this up) we had to agree 100% of the time that he'd put things back better than where he found them. He knew this was a scary thing to offer - told us some people ask him to refrain and he quickly restores things as they were ... but folks, this guy (he has apparently worked as a professional interior "stager") is genuinely talented - and this one housecleaning left us with improvements we really liked!
So in addition to a VERY well cleaned home - we got insight and a freshening of how we live with some of our favorite little stuff. Hell of a deal - his rates are solidly in the middle of the market range for good cleaners.
He has a great, informal way of handling scheduling and was totally candid upfront and easy about the business, personal space and performance aspects of a house-cleaning relationship.
We'll have him back in a month for sure.

Sara A.

Verified review

Jasper did an excellent job of designing and building my computer desk and storage unit. On our first meeting he was able to translate the description of what I wanted into a drawing with measurements. On his next visit he confirmed the measurements and proposed workarounds for dealing with challenges such as the room's molding as well as taking a paint sample to match the color of the unit with the room. The results were better than I expected. The unit truly looks built-in with molding around the top that matches the molding in the room. Though it's a floor to ceiling unit, it does not feel overbearing due to the design, color and seamless attachment to walls and ceiling. He was easy to work with when making adjustments in order to accommodate placement of my computer equipment. When I specified what I wanted, I got exactly that.
Jason is an extremely competent woodworker and very fast executor. I would highly recommend him.

Mark S.

Verified review

Richard helped me design and remodel some features of my home before selling. Richard has a great eye for design and is able to construct as well. Richard and his team poured a new (black) concrete driveway, built me a new lateral cedar stained fence and painted the exterior of my home navy blue. This lead to a quick sale above asking, Thanks!

Mary K.

Verified review

NBL Design is the BEST! I first heard about NBL Design through a fellow realtor in San Francisco. I like working with Nicki and Jeanette because their staging is contemporary and not fussy. I can trust that their staging will compliment the best features of the property. In my experience NBL Design is number one when it comes to quality of furniture and accessories, price and dependability. Thanks Nicki and Jeanette for all your hard work!

Kiku M.

Verified review

I used J.A. Services in two occasions. On the first, they furnished my SOMA tri-level loft as a furnished rental unit, and on the other occasion, they staged my loft for a sale. J.A. Services not only met my key requirements but also exceeded my expectations on both occasions.
My key requirements were as follows.
For the rental, I wanted a modern and comfortable living environment with inexpensive furniture that did not look cheap. For the staging, I sought to maximize the value received in the sale. For both, J.A. Services exceeded my requirements.
J.A. Services also completed their work on a very tight schedule, allowing me to market my unit quickly. I very much appreciated J.A. Services and their excellent eye for designing contemporary, urban, and comfortable living environments.

Skye L.

Verified review

I'm a new homeowner in Oakland and needed an engineers help with drafting my floorplan for bathroom addition permits. I decided to hire individual contractors without paying the fees of a General Contractor. Oh did I get lucky to have found Mike who not only provided excellent service in drafting but also offered his expertise on design and construction. Mike assisted with my brainstorming and troubleshooting process beyond what I had expected. He was knowledgeable about city regulations and offered sound advice on where to locate fixtures. I appreciate working with Mike to jumpstart the project and would highly recommend him for drafting and engineering services.

Nellie L.

Verified review

Catherine at Austin Design is extremely talented. She brings her professional advice and beautiful choice of furnishings to the next level with her care and desire to please. As her client I am extremely happy with the design and decorating work she has done for me.

Steve B.

Verified review

Maria provided excellent design for my bathroom, and personally shopped with me to pick out top quality materials. She also provided an excellent design for my future kitchen re-model.
I would highly recommend Maria Billingsley from Studio MB for any interior design project you have.

Lydia B.

Verified review

Angela doesn’t just deliver incredible interiors - she delivers complete peace of mind for even the pickiest of do-it-yourself decorators. Stop agonizing over your home and instead, turn it over into the hands of an exceptionally creative, responsive and budget conscious partner. We worked with Angela for a total refresh of our four-bedroom home and could not be more thrilled with the process and the results. Snag her before the secret is out!

Rachel O.

Verified review

Such impressive craftsmanship - the husband-wife team at California Custom Paint and Design are serious pros - they took a dated bedroom set and gave it new life in a gorgeous matte white. They did an amazing job filling all the holes that were left behind from factory distressing so that the surfaces looked perfect when painted. We are so happy with the work and will definitely be calling them up for all of our future projects!

Clothilde S.

Verified review

Excellent experience. We worked with Dane and Nastaran on a performing arts center in San Francisco and they went above and beyond to help us succeed. They even attended our company's special events. They not only came up with a creative design solution for the space, but really cared about our company and our vision. We hope to work with them again and recommend them to anybody looking for passionate, and dedicated professionals!

Sara B.

Verified review

Scott is fantastic. He has excellent taste, and has been extraordinarily commited to helping us all the way through the interior design process, even going so far as to build some furniture for us himself at a very reasonable rate, and stopping in regularly to answer questions that inevitably arise as we paint, install lights, and furnish our 4,500 square foot co-working space. He is creative, thoughtful, and a good listener, and he has a great sense of how to draw on different design periods for a coherent yet eclectic feel. He is also sensitive to the needs of a tight budget. I recommend him without reservation, especially if you are looking for a modern look.

Paul L.

Verified review

Very appreciative to Phelan for the color consultation on our condominium's common space refurb (interior and exterior paint & carpet). Can't begin to express how helpful his direction was to achieving consensus across the ownership group. THANKS PHELAN!

Rachelle G.

Verified review

David is a caring and enthusiastic man and a delight to work with. He is very efficient and gets the job done quickly. I am grateful to him because, although I am an interior designer and certified color consultant, I do not have expertise in drawing to scale sketches of the spaces I'm hired to design. David helped me by doing those sketches and my clients were impressed. I gave him 4 stars only because some of the sketches needed to be redone because of miscommunication between us. I must admit though that I may have not been thoroughly clear re. measurements. David was always eager to do the best job possible, and I appreciated that immensely. Thank you David. Would hire again.

Dunja O.

Verified review

My husband and I loved working with Marina. Recently we purchased our first condo and we were excited to design our new home. At first we didn't know what to do but, Marina was there to help us out. She answered all of our questions, she gave us AMAZING ideas and she made this experience fun. I highly recommend MBDesign. Thanks!!!!

Flora M.

Verified review

I hired Adam to design our home's renovation. We want to turn our one story Victorian into a two story by digging out the basement and raising the house.
Adam did a great job listening to us and included all the things we wanted in the new floorplans. He respected the old architecture of our home and neighborhood while incorporating our very modern aesthetic into the design. We're excited to see his plans come to life.

Cate M.

Verified review

Tammy is very talented. She transformed my outdoor space in such beautiful ways that her work was the topic of conversation at my party. I was so pleased and I am not someone who is easily impressed. Tammy is a pro!

Ian C.

Verified review

For years, we knew we needed to declutter and reorganize our house, but we kept telling ourselves that we should just do it ourselves - but It had been years and we still hadn’t done it. So, We hired Adroit Interiors to help us de-clutter our apartment and help us reorganize and rearrange our entire house - and it was 110% worth it! We have been bragging about their work to all our friends, and have fallen newly in love with our apartment. Having all of this get completed with experts’ help and direction was such a huge relief. We are so much happier in our space now and so glad we worked with them.
Michela and Jasmine helped us remove over 300 lbs of junk and clutter. Because they took care of making sure things were sustainably donated, recycled, or otherwise responsibly disposed of it was a stress- and worry-free experience for us. They were amazing at helping us work through not just the physical process of gathering, sorting, and removing things, but they also were amazing at helping us see things clearly and feel good about the process even though it can be surprisingly emotional to eliminate clutter you’ve had for a decade.
Michela and Jasmine helped reorganize and better use our space. My wife and I now have an amazingly well-organized closet! My wife wears many more of her clothes than she used to and puts together more outfit combinations than before because she can see all her clothes now. Keeping it clean has been so easy now that they’ve given us such a well-designed setup. When designing her new layout/organization system, they took into account our own personalities and habits to make sure the system we are set up with was one that has been easy to maintain.
During the process, Adroit also helped rearrange several of our rooms. They created 3D renderings of various layouts and showed us what was possible with our existing furniture and helped us source new pieces, as well as putting to use items that had been languishing in storage.
By the end of our time with Adroit we had so much faith in their abilities that we let them reorganize our entire kitchen without us being involved. No exaggeration, the way they put things away is so well thought-out and considered that when we can’t remember the new home for something, we can easily figure it out because things just make sense now. Cooking and keeping the kitchen clean has become much easier thanks to them.
We can not recommend them highly enough - Adroit Interiors lifted a huge weight off our shoulders and we are so much happier in our space than we were before.

Arunima S.

Verified review

I have known Swathi personally for a long time, however I got to know her in a professional capacity recently, when we purchased our first home in Seattle, WA.
Swathi made our transition very smooth with her expert skills on interior designing, she understood our budget limitations, gave attention to every detail & helped us set up our home just the way we had envisioned it. Her attention to detailing is remarkable and I totally love the way she plays with space limitations and turns them around in the most interesting & tasteful way.
I highly recommend her to everyone who's looking for expert advise on home planning, interior design , remodeling & renovation projects etc. She is professional and will walk the extra mile to transform your house into a home.

Q & A

Interior designers do much more than pick complementary paint colors and choose matching furniture — although those tasks are important parts of the job. Unlike decorators, interior designers usually have an associate of science degree or certificate of achievement in interior design from an accredited program. They’re trained in drafting, lighting and computer aided design (CAD), and are experts in room-specific design and residential space planning. Interior designers use these skills to plan and design safe, highly functional and beautiful interior spaces, from kitchens and bathrooms to family rooms and bedrooms. They determine space requirements, work within building codes and inspection regulations, and meet accessibility standards. An interior designer’s day-to-day job includes creative and technical tasks, both of which often require great communication skills:

For many homeowners, the difference between a good interior designer and a bad one is simply a matter of taste — but all good designers have similar skill sets. Interior designers usually have a degree or certificate in interior design, with training in design principles and lighting, drafting, and computer aided design (CAD) software. Good interior designers have strong color balancing skills and understand how different colors influence spatial perception and moods. They know the building and electrical codes in the areas where they practice, and they make sure that any contractors they hire also work to those codes. They are knowledgeable about different upholstery fabrics and draperies, stay ahead of residential design trends, and maintain their own individual creativity. Also, good interior designers have excellent space designing skills, so they can arrange a space efficiently and with ideal traffic flow. Ultimately, hiring a good interior designer means pinpointing one whose signature style is complementary to your personal style — so checking out many designers’ portfolios is a must — and whose communication methods match yours.

Choosing an interior designer is all about finding one whose signature style fits well with your tastes and who can work within your budget. To choose the right professional for your interior design project, ask yourself these five questions:

What is your signature style? Good interior designers can both describe their personal aesthetic and demonstrate their signature style through their portfolios. Make sure it appeals to you.

How will you make sure the design fits my lifestyle? Good designers understand that the interior design must improve a homeowner’s experience in their home and fit into their lifestyle; for example, a white suede sofa is a poor choice for a family with large dogs and small children.

How much do you charge? Depending on the project, an interior designer may charge an hourly rate, a flat fee or a percentage of the project’s total cost.

How will you stick to my budget? An interior designer should have a plan for staying within your budget, which includes full transparency of costs and flexibility when choosing materials and furnishings.

Because an interior design project is highly collaborative and based on hard-to-define personal preferences, it’s most important to choose a designer who communicates clearly and listens closely to you.

You can hire an interior design for a job as basic as a one-room consultation or as complex as supervising the design of an entire new home, helping with space planning, choosing color palettes, and shopping for furniture, flooring and artwork. The size and scope of the job will determine how much an interior designer charges; the average national cost for an interior designer ranges from $75 to $100 or more per hour. Other cost factors include the person’s reputation — interior designers to the stars are usually more expensive — and region. Most interior designers charge an average of $100-$225 for an initial consultation, but some will charge an hourly rate, usually starting at an average of $50, for larger projects that require extensive consultations. Hourly rates may be available for smaller projects, such as redecorating a living room or staging a home for sale; for instance, shopping and consulting can cost an average of $75 to $100 per hour, while staging costs and average $95 per hour. For many homeowners, a percentage of an interior designer’s cost is recouped through the professional discounts they receive from their vendors.